CROWDFUNDING APPEAL

Employment Specialist – Fife Individual Placement & Support

Flexible to cover 7 days (49 hours per week), split between two posts up to March 2021 – salary £26,056 per annum, (pro-rata)

FEAT is seeking two Employment Specialists to use the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) approach, working in partnership with Fife Health & Social Care and with clients with complex and enduring mental health conditions across Fife. IPS is a proven way of helping people, who have had mental ill health, back to work. 

The successful candidates will proactively manage a caseload of individuals who are unemployed and/or currently off work. You will deliver the IPS evidence-based model of vocational rehabilitation for people with complex and enduring mental health problems. Working directly with all relevant stakeholders: the individual, NHS Fife, Fife Council, GPs, employers, colleges, Job Centre Plus and Occupational Health to enable individuals to gain and retain employment. 

The roles will be based in our offices in Glenrothes, though you are also expected to carry out a proportion of work in NHS inpatient/outpatient settings and in the community around Fife, with patients with complex mental health conditions, on a one-to-one basis. This innovative project has secured substantial further funding from Opportunities Fife and the European Social Investment Fund and we expect to continue beyond March 2021.  You will be part of an enthusiastic dynamic team offering an inclusive, non-judgmental approach to support and empower people to flourish by managing their mental health for life. 

FEAT are an Equal Opportunities and Disability Confident employer and encourage applications from all members of the community including disabled applicants. We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of gender and ethnic group, but, as members of ethnic minority groups are currently under-represented in our organisation we would encourage applications from members of these groups. Appointment will be based on merit alone. FEAT's vision is to enable and support individuals to reach their full positive mental well-being in a culture where there is no stigma.

Application packs are available by e-mail from info@feat.org.uk or telephone 01592 759371 or by download. Please do not send a C.V. Candidates will be required to undergo a PVG check.  For informal queries around hours for the posts or anything else, please contact Joanne Koziel on 07736901030.

The closing date for applications is Friday 20thMarch 2020 at 12 noon.  Interviews will be held shortly thereafter.

Press Release October 2019  

FIFE CHARITY WINS SHARE OF £1MILLION GIVEAWAY 

A charity that supports young people with mental health conditions has been awarded a share of a £1,000,000 fund supporting under-18s as a part of Persimmon Homes’ hugely successful Building Futures campaign.

Fife Employment Access Trust help young people (and adults) self-manage their conditions and prepare to enter into paid employment. The trust was one of 96 organisations from the length and breadth of the UK to reach the final stage of its Building Futures competition. 

From February to May, Building Futures has also given away £128,000 to 128 organisations supporting young people in sport, education & arts and health throughout England, Scotland and Wales.

The competition culminated in a gala dinner at York Racecourse on Tuesday, where three finalists were each awarded the top prize of £100,000, three the second prize of £50,000 and three the third prize of £20,000. The remaining 87 finalists were handed £5,000 each.

Fife Employment Access Trust represented the health category for Persimmon Homes North Scotland receiving £5,000. Duncan Mitchell at Fife Employment Access Trust, said: “Taking part in Building Future has been a fantastic experience for us and it was so exciting to reach the finals. It was a very emotional evening with such a broad range of groups being represented and we are delighted to have been awarded £5,000."

Stephen Profili, managing Director at Persimmon Homes North Scotland, said: “The Building Futures scheme has been a great success and we had a brilliant evening at York Racecourse celebrating the fantastic work of so many organisations supporting young people in our communities.

“We have been overwhelmed by both the response to the competition, and the hard work and dedication of those involved within all the groups.”

The first, second and third prize winners were decided by a public vote and more than 225,000 votes were cast.

The £100,000 prize winner in the sport category was Scrappers Gym based in Swindon, Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association secured the award for education &arts and the Young People’s Counselling Service Annabelle Davis project in Peterborough was handed the health award.

The second prize awards of £50,000 went to Leeds Rowing Club for sport, UK Astronomy in Milton Keynes for education & arts and Norwich-based Toy Like Me for health.

Andover BMX Club scooped £20,000 for sport in third place, while Wargrave House in Newton-le Willows won the education & arts award and Butterwick Hospice Kidz Club in Stockton was handed the health award.

Iain added: “Getting involved with causes across our region has been an amazing experience and we will continue to support groups and charities through our Community Champions initiative.”

Fife Employment Access Trust (FEAT) are celebrating a significant award from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to transform the future of Silverburn Park in Leven.

FEAT are a Fife-wide award-winning mental health and employment specialist charity, also celebrating their 25th anniversary this year and are celebrating an award of £374,600 initially by the Fund to enter the formal development phase of the project which ultimately aims to renovate the B-listed former flax mill in the Park into a hub of commercial and community activities ranging from a hostel, café and community space, serving local people and visitors from the Fife Coastal Path.

Duncan Mitchell, General Manager at FEAT, says, “It’s been a long road to get to this point and I have to thank Fife Council and particularly current and previous members of the Levenmouth Area Committee who gave us the opportunity to lease the Park and hopefully spark new life into the site with wider benefits for the local community.”

It was back in 2012 that Fife Council marketed Silverburn as a development opportunity as a way of securing its regeneration, while at the same time safeguarding public access and the natural and historical value, with FEAT being named as the preferred partner.

Since then a wealth of activity has taken place to begin the regeneration of the Park and undertake the feasibility studies, community consultations and detailed designs – as well as fully cost the renovations work.

Duncan adds, “The funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund will now enable us to focus on securing the remainder of the funding needed to complete the construction phase of the project and finalise the designs for the renovation of the mill, as well as maintaining our vision to develop the Park as a place of quiet enjoyment, conserving the cultural values of the landscape and buildings, supporting the health & wellbeing of the community and enhancing the habitat and biodiversity of the environment. The funding will also support FEAT to ensure that meaningful training, volunteering, work experience and employment opportunities are available to their core client group and the surrounding community.

Once we can establish the final project, it will also be an income-generator for the charity and therefore reduce our reliance on grant funding to sustain our core work.”

FEAT will continue to work in partnership with Fife Council throughout this next phase of the programme, as well as Fife Historic Buildings Trust who have extensive experience – and success – of supporting successful implementation of similar projects across the Kingdom.

Further details of FEAT’s vision and aims for the Park are available at www.silverburnpark.co.uk and regular updates on the current daily activities at the Park are on their facebook page. Those developments have included managing volunteer and training programmes, opening a small café last year with plans to open a campsite this year as a pre-cursor to the flax mill re-development. 

FEAT have also delivered a wide variety of community events and this Saturday (29th June) the Friends of Silverburn group are hosting a free family fun day from 12-3 pm.

Brian Robertson, Chair of the Silverburn project Board, adds, “It’s been a long haul to get to this point of the project and we have a vast amount of work to do now to ensure we can raise the remainder of the funding required to transform the Park – however, the support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund is a huge advantage to us when approaching others – they have shown faith in our plans, and our ability to deliver these plans, and everyone connected with FEAT is on cloud 9.”

Cllr Ken Caldwell convener of Levenmouth Area Committee welcomed the news saying: "This is great news for Levenmouth that FEAT has secured funding from the National Lottery Heritage fund. We're in full support of FEAT and are working closely with them on redevelopment plans for Silverburn Park. We want Silverburn to be an asset for the community; somewhere everyone can enjoy."

Christine May, Chair of Fife Historic Buildings Trust said, "All at FHBT are so proud to have helped the Silverburn team to achieve this wonderful financial support, the result of months of hard work and co-operation. We are looking forward to getting stuck in with all the partners involved and to making the dream a reality."

Twenty-five years after our foundation, Fife Employment Access Trust (FEAT) have won a Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) Award for its work supporting those with mental health problems to find employment.

The prize, presented on Tuesday evening (5th March) at a prestigious venue in Central London, includes a £10,000 grant and promotion of the organisation’s vital work before an audience of influential politicians, journalists and philanthropists. The Awards are also known as the Oscars for the Voluntary Sector.

According to the Scottish Government, around one in three people are estimated to be affected by mental illness in any one year. Many of these struggle to find or maintain stable employment.

Duncan Mitchell, General Manager of FEAT, said: "Day in, day out we get to work with people experiencing severe disadvantages in life due to their mental health and help them to unlock their ability and talent to overcome their daily challenges in life. It is an honour to help them on their journeys.

“Winning this award is an enormous boost to everyone associated with FEAT, particularly to the staff and volunteers who constantly go far beyond the call of duty to achieve life-changing outcomes for the people who inspire us every day.

“This year we are celebrating our twenty-fifth anniversary and what a way to mark it. We hope this award will lead on to even bigger and better things for us and the amazing people we serve.”

Andy Cook, Chief Executive of the Centre for Social Justice think tank, said “FEAT innovates new techniques and approaches to solving some of the most pressing issues in the field of mental health. Among these, the inability to find and maintain regular work is paramount.“The dignity of work and the confidence it instils are crucial to solving mental health problems.“The CSJ recognises FEAT’s innovation, efficiency and compassion in helping people find work and rebuild their lives. We wish them another twenty-five years of stellar achievement.”

Video footage from the Awards, featuring FEAT staff is available by clicking here 

About the CSJ Awards

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) exists to prevent and tackle poverty across Britain.

The CSJ Awards is an annual, high profile award ceremony that honours the best grassroot, poverty-fighting charities and social enterprises from across Britain. 

There are five categories for which prizes are awarded: addiction support and recovery, family support, work and employment, education and social mobility, and crime prevention and rehabilitation.

The five winners each receive a £10,000 grant and are profiled in front of hundreds of leading figures from across the country. This enables them to scale their impact and gives senior politicians, philanthropists and business and charity leaders the chance to be inspired by and learn from them. 

It gives award winners unique opportunities to connect with other people passionate about furthering the cause of social justice in Britain.

For our 25th anniversary, we are holding our AGM on 12th March 2019 in Rothes Halls, Glenrothes.

It would be great to see past staff and board members, service users and volunteers come along and take a quick step back down memory lane and also hear about current exciting plans and developments, as well as the Fife premiere of a short film being made focussing on FEAT.

If you would like to come along, please get in touch as soon as possible, space (and sandwiches) will be limited!